By Yang Jian
More than 50 incumbent heads of state or government have said they will visit Shanghai to see the World Expo 2010, the organizer said yesterday as the city marked the 100-day countdown to the exposition's opening. The city yesterday noted the countdown with ceremonies, commemorative stamps and a drive to recruit home-stay families for Expo visitors.At a gathering at the Shanghai Grand Stage, Shanghai Party Secretary Yu Zhengsheng encouraged the entire city to spare no effort in preparing for the World Expo.
The Shanghai government has made security its top priority and will ensure the "perfect safety" of the Expo site, Yu told about 6,000 participants, including government officials, local residents, Expo volunteers and security guards, at the gathering.The World Expo organizers will hold five trial operations in April to minimize the possibility of things going wrong. Officials will be testing exhibition pavilions, security and volunteer arrangements, visitor services and logistics.
In the last trial, 500,000 people will fill the Expo site as organizers see how all the preparations check out. Lu Chuan, director of award-winning film "City of Life and Death," started shooting a short film for the iconic China Pavilion yesterday. The 8-minute film, "Beautiful Progress," will focus on the changes in Chinese cities since the country introduced its reform and opening-up policy in 1978. The filming will take about 20 days in cities including Shanghai and Beijing.
The film will be played at the top floor of the China Pavilion during the World Expo opening on May 1. Most of the heads of state or government will come at the "national pavilion day" of their countries, when individual nations will get the spotlight and hold special performances and celebrations. A total of 192 countries and 50 international organizations have confirmed their participation in the global event. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is planning his visit to coincide with the beginning of the Expo, according to Herve Ladsous, French ambassador to China.
Many head of states already have come to the Expo site to check their countries' preparation work, including Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also has been to the site. Most new traffic construction projects for the Expo, including the central ring road and new subway lines, have been completed and opened to traffic. Ferry lines across the Huangpu River will be completed within three months, said Zhong Yanqun, fulltime deputy director of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai Executive Committee.
More than 90 bus routes and five subway lines will cross the Expo area, and 42 buses will run within 2.4 kilometers of the area. A total of 550,000 beds will be available in the city and another 200,000 beds offered in nearby areas for Expo visitors. Zhong told Xinhua news agency the Expo site will have 85,000 square meters of catering areas and 60 restaurants inside foreign pavilions to serve 40,000 visitors a day.
Ninety-five drinking fountains will ensure that drinking water is available within every 100 meters. More than 8,000 public toilet cubicles will be available - 20.14 for every 1,000 visitors. Some 70 million people are expected to visit the Expo site, a number that would surpass the 64-million visitor record set at the Osaka Expo in 1970. For hot destinations such as the China Pavilion, visitors will be able to use a reservation service to avoid long queues. ,Approximately 400,000 square meters will be shaded to protect visitors from sunshine in Shanghai's scorching summer, Zhong added.
Source: Shanghai Daily - By Yang Jian - 22/01/2010